Herter & Co. advised Providence Strategic Growth (“PSG”), the growth equity affiliate of premier asset management firm Providence Equity Partners (“Providence”), and Verdane, the specialist Northern European growth equity investor, on a new growth financing for Hornetsecurity GmbH (“Hornetsecurity”), a leading European provider of cloud-based email security and data protection. In a recent financing round, affiliates of PSG joined Hornetsecurity as new investors, while Verdane re-invested.
The new financing package to support the future organic and inorganic growth of the Company was provided by Rantum Capital.
Hornetsecurity is a leading German email cloud security provider in Europe, which protects the IT infrastructure, digital communication, and data of companies and organisations of all sizes. The security specialist from Hanover provides its services worldwide via 9 secure datacentres. The product portfolio covers all important areas of email security, including spam and virus filters, legally compliant archiving, and encryption, as well as defence against advanced threats like CEO fraud and ransomware. With around 200 employees, Hornetsecurity is represented globally at 11 locations and operates in more than 30 countries through its international distribution network. The premium services are used by approximately 40,000 customers including Swisscom, Telefónica, KONICA MINOLTA, LVM Versicherung, DEKRA and Claas.
Herter & Co. acted as Sole Debt Adviser to PSG and Verdane.
PSG is an affiliate of Providence Equity Partners. Established in 2014, PSG focuses on growth equity investments in lower middle market software and technology-enabled service companies. Providence is a premier global asset management firm that pioneered a sector-focused approach to private equity investing with the vision that a dedicated team of industry experts could build exceptional companies of enduring value. Since the firm’s inception in 1989, Providence has invested in more than 200 companies and is a leading equity investment firm focused on the media, communications, education, software and services industries. PSG is headquartered in Boston, MA, with offices in London and Kansas City.
Verdane is a specialist growth equity investment firm that partners with ambitious Northern European tech-enabled businesses to help them reach the next stage of international growth. Verdane pioneered portfolio acquisitions in Northern Europe in 2003, and announced a complementary fund strategy entirely dedicated to direct investments in 2018. Verdane’s eight funds hold €2bn in total commitments and have made over 120 thematic investments into category leaders within in digital consumer, energy & resource efficiency and the software industry. Verdane’s team of more than 60, based in Berlin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, is dedicated to being the preferred growth partner in Northern Europe.
